5 Things I Love about Google Panda and Penguin

By Sean

Lots of businesses went out with the wake of Google’s Panda and Penguin updates. Some of them were unethical. But there were some good that got knocked out too. Search engine results pages have improved since then. But more than just the SERPs improving, here’s what I love about Google Panda and Penguin.

Client Awareness

Clients now know that all SEOs are not equal. There are snake oil SEOs, bad SEOs who underdeliver, good SEOs, brand-hat SEOs, and the list goes on. Most clients only get to realize two types: Good and bad SEOs. That’s still a winner – if you’re an SEO company playing it right.

Rise of Branding

There’s this messy buzz on branding that’s being plastered on SEO practices. It’s been going on and on – and everyone in the white hat realm seems to agree. It’s true – branding does a lot of good for SEO and significantly lowers down the risk of being conked out. #RCS has been the craze of Mozcon 2012. And it resonates in each of our SEO-laden hearts.

Branding is here to stay. It’s what works and it’s for the long term. Thank you Google Panda and Penguin.

Demise of Cheats

Everyone wants to do things a little easier, a little cheaper, a little faster. And that’s exactly why the cheats were winning. Black hat and grey-hat SEOs who played with fire using their clients’ websites won – until Google Panda and Penguin. Now most, if not all the cheats got burned. And their clients along with them. It’s up to the white-hatters to fix it all the crap they left behind.

This does 2 things:

1) It gives the SEO community a bad name in general

2) It educates clients that not all SEOs are the same and the good guys must be out there

Since SEO is growing and the hype and buzz around it is not anywhere close to fading out, then we’re all counting on #2 to lift us up.

Grab that Fat Head

Since it’s now tougher and cleaner to rank for the best terms in your niche, it’s the best time to grab that fat head. The cheats are going to be chewed out by the system sooner than later. Google is employing more animals – and its only going to employ more each year.

Getting to that fat head you’ve always wanted is going to be easier without the cheats. It’s also one great way to show clients that you’re a winner.

Clients always go with the winner.

The Knowledge Gap

People in general are now more aware that there’s a difference between an SEO practice that’s risky and one that’s respectably ethical. They now know that they need to learn. And it drove great numbers to our SEO school. We’re seeing a gradual increase in subscription month on month. If you’re looking to enroll, click here (it’s free!).

With all these algorithm changes going on, I just want to personally thank Google for the 2 major updates they’ve released that has made the world a better place – for the users and for SEOs like me.

Yeah it’s going to go there sooner or later. What we can only be really sure of is #RCS. SEOs can sometimes stretch the envelope too far. They even say that Guest posting is Google’s next target. At least we saw a good reaction from the SEO community trying to shy away early from making that automated or mass-replicated.